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Catherine II as Female Ruler: The Power of Enlightened Womanhood

Ivleva, Victoria

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Abstract

This article examines some of the complexities of female rule during the reign of Catherine II (1762-1796). It argues that in addition to the Baroque scenarios of power inherited from her predecessors, the German-born Russian empress employed the cultural roles of an “enlightened” woman of merit – a matriarch, a craftswoman, a house manager, and an educator – roles that projected positive values of womanhood, in order to position her femininity as beneficial to the state and to thereby legitimize her authority as a female sovereign.

Citation

Ivleva, V. (2015). Catherine II as Female Ruler: The Power of Enlightened Womanhood. Vivlīoḟika, 3, 20-46

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 13, 2015
Online Publication Date Sep 4, 2015
Publication Date Sep 4, 2015
Deposit Date May 19, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Vivliofika : e-journal of eighteenth-century Russian studies.
Publisher Duke University Libraries
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 3
Pages 20-46
Keywords Catherine II, Peter I, Elizabeth, Gender roles, Patriarchy, Matriarchy, Statecraft, Housecraft, Domesticity, Education.
Publisher URL http://vivliofika.library.duke.edu/article/view/15255

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